Microfossils in the ANDRILL core

This is an image of a zooplankton
called Globocassidulina subglobosa. It is too small to be seen with the naked
eye, so many scientists from the ANDRILL
project are looking for it in the core
using microscopes. If the scientists see lots of these plankton then they've
found a clue that the sea of
Antarctica may have been more productive,
unfrozen and slightly warmer in the recent geological past.

You might also be interested in:

ANDRILL (Antarctic Geologic Drilling) is a drilling program currently on-ice in Antarctica. ANDRILL is in its second year of drilling into the rocks of the sea floor, which lie beneath the ice and the...more

The Southern Ocean is a bit different. Many mapmakers do not even recognize it as an ocean. The Southern Ocean (sometimes known as the Antarctic Ocean or South Polar Ocean) surrounds Antarctica in the...more

Antarctica is unique. It is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth. The land is barren and mostly covered with a thick sheet of ice. Antarctica is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle...more

This is my 10th year with the Anchorage School District as a science teacher, currently working with K-12 teachers around the district rather than in a classroom. My most recent classroom time was as a...more

Robin Frisch-Gleason brings a background in both geology and teaching to the ANDRILL Project. Robin's first career was geology. She received her B.A. in Geology from Oberlin College in 1982, and her M.S....more

I'm a New Zealand teacher. I teach geography to high school students before some of them go on to university. We try to teach as much geology and earth science as we can, and we go on lots of field trips....more

Hello Everyone! We are not in Antarctica yet - but we are getting closer! We are now in Christchurch, New Zealand. We still have to get all our Extreme Cold Weather Gear from the Clothing Distribution...more